


The First Tourist

by waterbringer (Zashiki_Warashi)



Category: Doctor Who, Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 11:15:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6608584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zashiki_Warashi/pseuds/waterbringer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During his travels, Kenshin tended to save all kinds of people that came across his path. The occasional foreigner was no exception.</p>
<p>They were often a weird bunch, but this one seemed...odder than most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Tourist

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I've had older fics on my computer for way too long. I've got this account, I should be using it. Please enjoy!

 

The night of the Tanabata festival was a cool, comfortable one, skies clear and lanterns lit. This particular village at least was keeping the tradition alive, even as it was beginning to fade into the recesses of most peoples minds. With decorations hung, wishes tied to bamboo, and numerous people still wandering the streets, the village was the picture of tranquility.

 

Mostly. There were always exceptions to such things.

 

Himura Kenshin quietly and quickly weaving through the crowd, keeping to the shadows and trying to remain inconspicuous (difficult for a man with red hair, a pink _gi_ and an illegal sword), falling back on old training and habits. As much as he wanted to just enjoy the festival (the only reason he hadn't moved on yet), Kenshin had far more pressing issues to deal with. Specifically, the foreign man he was currently tailing.

 

The foreigner wore a suit of some kind with a long brown coat, with both hands in his pockets, aalong with a Western-style suit. He walked down the street looking around at everything, apparently fascinated, occasionally spinning on the ball of his foot to take in as much of the sights as possible with a wide, gleeful expression on his face. While plenty of foreigners had entered Japan's borders in the last several years, Kenshin had encountered only a few and those had an air of snobbery about them, and most had seen Japan only as a business opportunity. None of them had the level of fascination of this one, who looked as though he was there only because he could be, because he wanted to be there, could have been there for no reason other than because he liked Japan.

 

That didn't mean he was a particularly perceptive individual, though. His appearance meant he could only blend in so much, but he didn't even try to be subtle in his movements or expressions, appearing to have just stepped off the boat with no idea what he was doing or where he was going, and completely ignorant of any dangers or any local customs. It was a wonder that more people weren't taking note of him.

 

In fact, Kenshin suspected that he wouldn't have given much thought to the strange individual, except the man was being stalked by several thugs who had seen an easy target.

 

Continuing on, Kenshin gripped his sword in one hand, tense and ready to attack if need be. It wasn't until the foreigner had turned a corner to an abandoned street that Kenshin realized it.

 

_Ah. That's what he is doing._

 

Stopping in the road the foreigner suddenly spoke.

 

“Well gents, I think that's far enough.” Casually, the man suddenly spun and faced the five unsavory people that had gathered behind him, looking unsurprised by this. “I'm guessing this is that part where I hand over my wallet and nobody gets hurt?”

 

Surprisingly, the man was speaking near perfect Japanese, albeit with a strange accent of some kind, probably European.

 

“What are you going on about?” One of them sneered. “Are all of you this thick?”

 

The man cocked his head to the side. “All of us? That's a rather vague description. There's only one of me if you haven't noticed-”

 

“And we out-number you!”

 

“Oh, so you can do the proper math.”

 

The thugs as well as Kenshin blinked at the insult before a particularly smelly person yelled, “He's wasted! Just grab the money and let's move!”

 

Most of the thugs pulled out small knifes while the last pulled out a proper katana. One armed with one of the small blades let out a yell and lunged at the foreigner, who casually leaned and ducked out of the way of several blows, hands still in his pockets as he continuously swerved.

 

“No chance we can all just walk away and forget about all of this? I don't even have any of your currency on me.”

 

A second particularly frustrated thug lunged for him.

 

“Guess not.”

 

“You're all pathetic! Get out of the way! I'll take him!” The one armed with a _katana,_ the apparent ringleader, stepped forward, shoving aside the two people unable to take out one unarmed man.

 

“Oh, this isn't good.” The man's right hand tensed, as though gripping something. Kenshin's eyes narrowed and his thumb flicked against his swords sheath, readying it to be drawn. _A gun?_ Had the man been armed the whole time? If he had become desperate to use it, then the fight was about to get a lot bloodier.

 

“Die!”

 

The man quickly dove out of the way of the thug's strike, giving Kenshin just enough of an opening to meet the the strike with his sword, blades crossing above his head until he pushed back against it, sending the thug stumbling.

 

“What the..?”

 

While he couldn't see what the foreigner was doing, the thugs in front of Kenshin looked at him with dumb surprise. The fact that no shots were being fired from behind him was promising, though.

 

“Where the hell did you come from!?”

 

“This one will not let such pointless violence continue, that he will not.”

 

His opponent sneered. “What, you're taking the side of some _ganji_?”

 

A voice to Kenshin's side said, “Hey, that was just uncalled for!”

 

Kenshin's eyes become steely. He pushed back the thug with his blade and took a defensive position. “You disgrace your countrymen with your actions. Now fall back or face the consequences.”

 

“Get him!”

 

The thugs all yelled and lunged, weapons drawn and aimed right at Kenshin and his current companion. Kenshin had pulled back his sword, preparing his attack when suddenly someone grabbed Kenshin's forearm. “Wait!”

 

Startled, Kenshin spared a glance at the foreigner, who for the first time looked worried and almost upset with his eyes wide and his hands shaking, completely dropping the whimsical mask he had before. Blinking, Kenshin gave him a reassuring smile, causing the man to falter and relax his grip in surprise. In the next second, he moved.

 

“Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ryu Kan Sen!”

 

The one, long slash sent all five men flying through the air, screaming as they fell heavily onto the ground several feet away.

 

Kenshin sheathed the blade with a _shhhiii-ki_ before turning his attention to the foreigner. He stood in place, never having attempted to run away during the entire exchange. Looking around at the fallen bodies, he went from anxious to relieved and began to mutter under his breath.

 

“They're all still alive. Whoa. Didn't expect that, no, didn't expect that at all-”

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Apparently snapped out of his inner musings, the man turned toward his rescuer, beginning to show some of his earlier curiosity when he was simply wandering down the street.

 

“Oh right. That was brilliant!” Kenshin jumped slightly when the man suddenly clasped him by the shoulders, grinning wildly like a madman. He faintly realized he was still talking, rather quickly as well. “Never seen anything like it, and I can assure you, I've seen a lot.”

 

Listening to him, Kenshin faintly noted that despite the odd accent the foreigner used, he spoke with surprisingly decent Japanese, very unlike others he had seen that required interpreters on hand. If he didn't know any better, it was almost as though he was a native speaker.

 

“Sir.” The man seemed to finally notice that the red-head was trying to get a word in edgewise and thankfully let him and fell silent. Kenshin smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring. “You should probably get back to your lodging. The streets can be dangerous at night, as you can see.” He vaguely gesture toward the various bodies littering that area.

 

The foreigner glanced around. “Oh, this was nothing. That and, well, to be honest, I just got into town a little while ago, and I'm not staying anywhere. Don't have any money to pay for anything like an inn either, but I'll be just fine from here.”

 

“Well, if you're sure-”

 

“No way. It can't be...”

 

Both men turned toward the beaten swordsman, who was shakily standing back up, largely with the help of his own sword serving as a crutch of sorts. He aimed an unsteady finger and pointed at the two. “The rumors were true, it is you!”

 

As Kenshin's hand readied his blade again, his brow furrowed as he heard the stranger behind him say, “Wait, we haven't met before, have-”

 

“Battousai!”

 

“...huh?”

 

With that, the swordsman yelled and ran for them as Kenshin began to moved to meet mid-strike. However, he never got the chance.

 

“Oh no, you don’t!”

  
  


Kenshin suddenly stopped mid-lunge at the strange, high-pitched sound coming from behind him. The drunken swordsman let out a surprised yell from as he dropped his sword, letting it clatter in the dirt. He fell to his knees as he stared at his shaking hands.

  
  


“What, what the hell is that?!”

 

Looking behind him, Kenshin saw the foreigner holding up something small and metal; certainly not a gun, though the size was about right. Whatever it was, it continued to make that weird noise while giving off a blue light for a moment more before the man slipped it back in his pocket. Kenshin didn't get a chance to ask him about it before the shout came.

 

“Police!”

 

Kenshin and the man looked at each other before looking around at the number of bodies surrounding them. _Oh. Right._

 

“That's our cue!” The foreigner grabbed Kenshin by the wrist and took off the opposite direction of the approaching authority figures, all but dragging the poor redhead like a rag doll behind him.

 

“Orooo!”

 

\-----

 

They didn’t stop running for several minutes, dodging random bystanders which slowly thinned out. By the time they reached a river on the other side of the village, the roads were almost completely empty. With the yells of the police long gone, the foreigner finally stopped on the bridge, releasing Kenshin’s poor abused wrist and leaned over the side, out of breath.

 

“That was…” the stranger said.

 

Kenshin tilted his head, becoming worried. “Are you-“

 

“Brilliant!” The foreigner suddenly spun around, arms out wide. “I’ve never seen anything like it! At least nothing recently, except maybe that time on, well, that’s not important.” The man waved a hand, dismissing himself. “No matter where you go, that part never really changes.”

 

Kenshin blinked. “What part?”

 

“The part where you avoid the authorities. There's always a lot of running, and they arrive right when things look the worst for you, even when you didn't do anything wrong. I seem to attract that kind of attention wherever I go. It's always a pain whenever they catch me, since then I get arrested and have to break out again. With any luck, the same thing happens again next week.” The man used the kind of tone that other people might use when describing how they did their laundry. In a very rambling manner.

 

_How could one person end up in jail so often?_

 

The foreigner rubbed his chin, thinking. “Strange, I could swear I'd heard the name Battousai somewhere before-“

 

“Himura!”

 

The Doctor stared. “What?”

 

Kenshin nearly tripped over himself in his rush to correct the man, noticing that he was shaking his head and waving his arms in the air. Taking a deep breath, Kenshin collected himself and said, “My name is Himura Kenshin. I’m nothing but a wanderer, that I am.”

 

The man clapped his hands together. “Of course, that was it! You fought in the war, didn't you? With the patriots?”

 

Kenshin sighed, resigned. His identity wasn't going to stay unknown, no matter how much he may want it to. “Yes, that I did.”

 

“Funny, I could have sworn that you were...well!” He shrugged. “I'm the Doctor.”

 

Kenshin tilted his head, confused. “Doctor...”

 

“Just the Doctor,” the foreigner- no, the Doctor, apparently- said. “Anyway.” The Doctor turned his attention back to Kenshin. “Himura; alright if I call you that?”

 

Kenshin nodded. He much preferred it, in fact.

 

“Himura, would it be alright if I took a look at that sword of yours?”

 

Kenshin looked at him. Turning the idea in his head for a moment, Kenshin then took out his sword from his sash and held it out hilt first toward the Doctor.

 

Slowly, he unsheathed the sword, turning it over in his hands. Moving his finger along the edge just shy of touching the metal, he stared at it, eyes moving up and down the blade. “A backwards blade, with the edge on the wrong side. So that's how you did it. I wondered...”

 

“It's called a _sakabato_. I'm guessing you've never seen one before.”

 

“Nope. Never heard of it before. Are there many of them?” The Doctor handed the sword back.

 

“This is the only one I know of.” Sheathing the blade, Kenshin thought back to the earlier fight.

 

“May I see what you used as well?”

 

“Hm? Oh, that.” The Doctor pulled out the device, holding it out for Kenshin to see. “It's my own sonic screwdriver. No other like it in the universe!”

 

Picking it up, Kenshin turned it over, examining it. It looked strange, and yet... “What did it do to that man in the street?”

 

“Oh, don't worry about him,” the Doctor shrugged it off. “It just made some sonic waves, causing vibrations in metal. His sword probably isn't in the best of shape, though.”

 

Handing it back, Kenshin asked, “It is...a strange technology. Not many Europeans have these, yes?”

 

The Doctor chuckled, storing it away somewhere in his coat. “No one coming here from the continent will be have those, I can promise you that!”

 

_But then, where..._

 

Venturing untested waters, Kenshin asked, “If it is not prying, may I ask what you are doing all the way out here? It is unusual for visitors such as yourself to be here, especially so far from the coast.”

 

“Oh, well.” The Doctor scratched the back of his head looking uncomfortable. “I'm traveling solo right now. I spend my life traveling here and there, wherever the wind takes me and I just happened to crash here.”

 

Kenshin blinked. “Crashed?”

 

“Um, an expression, nothing more,” the Doctor lied. “And there didn't seem to be any crisis, which is what usually happens when I stop somewhere, so I just thought I'd enjoy the holiday and the sights before heading out again.”

 

Looking up at the sky, Kenshin hummed. “So, you have never participated in a Tanabata festival then?”

 

The Doctor shrugged, “Ehhhh....no.”

 

“Well, if you have some time to spare, this one has a suggestion...”

 

\-----

 

At the late hour, most of the crowd had already dispersed, leaving few around to gawk at the strange sight of a foreigner and a redhead sitting on the ground, each writing on tags, readying them to be tied to the bamboo. Had any of them been looking closely enough, the foreigner clearly had never used the ink and brush he was struggling with and was additionally frustrated that he had accidentally ruined three tags already before finally ending up with one with vaguely legible Japanese on it. Meanwhile, the redhead simply had terrible handwriting, but at least the foreigner would have been able to present an excuse for it.

 

“So, we just let it dry and then hang them up?”

 

“Yes, that is the idea.”

 

“And this grants the wish written on it?”

 

“Hopefully yes.”

 

“Hm.” Crossing his arms, the Doctor looked up at the starry sky. “It's never quite that easy, is it? Wishes like those.” He nodded toward the tags.

 

“True.” Kenshin looked out at the bamboo gently waving in the breeze.

 

“I was wondering if you would ever consider, well…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Would you be interested in traveling with me, by chance?” the Doctor asked. “It’s similar to what you’re doing, only I just happen to travel a rather further distance, and with much nicer accomidations, and you can clearly take care of yourself, and, well, I’m always looking for people who might want to come and-“

 

“Doctor.” Kenshin smiled sadly. “I assume that you will be leaving Japan’s shores then?”

 

“…I’m afraid so, yes,” the Doctor said. “My next stop will most likely be outside of the country, to say the least.”

 

“Then my apologizes, but my work is here, that it is.” To not have to travel alone, to travel with someone who seemed to understand would be certainly be more than Kenshin deserved. And to leave his homeland was unthinkable. He owed her his penance. “This one cannot simply run away.”

 

“Right.” The Doctor didn’t look surprised, though he seemed somewhat chestfallen. “I just thought I’d check, you never know.”

 

“Still, this one does not think it will take you long to find another willing to go with you. You are a decent man.”

 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at the this. “Where did you get that assessment? You barely know me. I could have been trying to lead you to your death just now with my offer. You have no idea what I may have done in the past.”

 

“You forget, that you do,” Kenshin said, grinning. “In the marketplace, you could have used your device and escaped from those men trailing you at any time. Instead, you wandered until you could find a place without any bystanders, that you did. I cannot judge what you may have done elsewhere, but only by what you have done here.”

 

The Doctor smirked. “And here I thought I was being subtle.” After blowing on his tag, he lightly touched it. “It looks like they're dry. Perhaps it's time we-”

 

“Hey, you two!”

 

Kenshin and the Doctor jumped up and looked over at the policeman pointing and yelling at them.

 

“Oh dear. This one was hoping we would be done by the time they caught up with us.”

 

“Here Himura.” The Doctor handed his tag to Kenshin. “You'll have to do the last part on you're own. It's time I left town.”

 

“Very well. Until we meet again.”

 

The Doctor blinked at him owlishly for a moment before smirking. “Until then.” With that, the Doctor tore off down one of the streets, several police following him.

 

Turning, Kenshin chose to go into the field, heading out of village and outrunning the police until they were out of sight before going off the path into some brush. He had a ritual to complete after all.

 

Finding a small grove of bamboo, Kenshin began to tie the tags up when he noticed the Doctor's tag was no longer as it was before. While the characters had been shaky, they had definitely been Japanese characters. Now, they instead looked like when Kenshin guessed was English, and now completely unreadable for him.

 

_That's fine_. Kenshin tied up the two tags, the characters for peace written in Japanese. _Perhaps he will tell me about it later._

 


End file.
